"Every soldier knows that war is more than arms and armor, every warrior carries an image of impending victory in his heart. When the image shatters, to be replaced by defeat, he is beaten. But sometimes a warrior receives assistance from an unexpected source, an in-rush of light, blasting away his fear and despair, releasing new inner strength! Yes, a war is much more than arms and armor. Half of every conflict is the will to win. We are Jedi. We must recognize that the will to win, and the power of war, are given sometimes by the dark side. And sometimes, as dawn throws back the night, victory is given…by the light!"

Battle meditation was a Forceability which considerably boosted the morale, stamina, and overall battle prowess of an individual's allies while simultaneously reducing the opposition's combat-effectiveness by eroding their will to fight. With the Force, one could coordinate entire fleets of ships, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as a single entity with the ability to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively. Though ideal for meditating large-scale conflicts, battle meditation was also effective when employed for the benefit of one's comrades in small skirmishes, attacks, and duels.

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Battle meditation was the ability to use the Force to coordinate allies to work together with enhanced precision. It could also be used to simultaneously demoralize the opponents, reducing their combat effectiveness. Battle meditation was used to influence armies and fleets to win battles and even wars.[2]

"In the old days, the Dark Lords of the Sith built meditation chambers in their warships. In the heat of battle, they would seal themselves in the chambers…and direct powerful visualizations upon the conflict that raged all around them."

Battle meditation was not merely a province of the light side; powerful dark side users could twist the wills of their commanded armies not through subtle influence, but with total domination. This perversion of battle meditation was called Sith Battle Coordination by the Dark LadyLumiya. It was later identified by Darth Caedus as "Sith Battle meditation".[1]

Bastila Shan supporting the Sith fleet in 3,956 BBY during the Battle of Rakata Prime.

When Darth Caedus ascended to Dark Lord of the Sith, he soon found out that within his mind he could coordinate and direct battle into whatever outcome he so desired. He would use a meditation chair on board his personal star destroyer to amplify his powers. Caedus' early uses of the art were poor, as his first attempts only resulted in him being able to see the battle unfolding in his mind, not being able to directly influence it.[23] When he tried to dominate the wills of his subordinates via the Force he found that they were not so easily subjugated, and reacted with hostility to his psychic intrusion. His powers were greatly augmented by Alema Rar as he attempted to lay siege to Kashyyyk, and what seemed like a battle lost became a victory for the Alliance.[1] Caedus practiced regularly (he had plenty of opportunity since his early time as a Sith was heavily engrossed in war), and his proficiency became much stronger. Caedus would Flow-walk into the immediate future to see the next battle, and then return to the present to directly influence the battle to bring about the ends he desired. He shortly thereafter gave up the use of his meditation chair upon its destruction by Luke Skywalker and meditated battle directly from the bridge of the Anakin Solo.[24] During the Second Battle of Fondor, Darth Caedus used battle meditation to dominate the collective wills of Fondor's ground forces, causing them to doubt their chances of victory and drop the planet's defensive shielding.[25]

"With sufficient concentration, a Jedi—such as you or I—can strengthen the hopes of our allies and heighten the fears of our enemies…thus,what the armies know in their hearts MUST become true…because they believe it so strongly."

Grand MasterYoda was also quite skilled, having used battle meditation during his Mission to Vjun to empower the actor pretending to be him. With a mere touch, Yoda was able to saturate Palleus Chuff with feelings of hope and mission success, while simultaneously eliminating feelings of doubt and despair from the little man's spirit.[30] Yoda also successfully meditated the conflict during the Battle of Kashyyyk.[31] Both Yarael Poof and Oppo Rancisis used it in the Stark Hyperspace War and the Clone Wars respectively.[12][13] During the Clone Wars, Etain Tur-Mukan was able to encourage and calm troopers during the conflicts she took part in, suggesting that she had the potential to use Battle Meditation or some lesser form of this ability.

A refined version of battle meditation was known as Force meld. Unlike battle meditation, which could influence both the Force-sensitives and insensitives of both sides, Force meld concentrated on coordinating and improving the Force-sensitives of the user's side.[2]

The use and effect of battle meditation was first described in the Star Wars expanded universe by Timothy Zahn in Heir to the Empire, when Grand AdmiralThrawn explains to Joruus C'baoth and Gilad Pellaeon his own theory as to why the Battle of Endor was lost; he believed that Palpatine employed the power to an unwise degree, taking such close control of the Imperial forces as to make them puppets, almost incapable of fighting on their own when his influence was suddenly removed (the use of battle meditation at Endor was later attributed to Admiral Nial Declann instead of Palpatine).

The term "battle meditation" is first used in the video game Knights of the Old Republic ("KotOR") and the power is a plot element rather than an ability usable by any of the player characters. Because Bastila is one of the only Jedi in the galaxy who has mastered the ability, she is a vital weapon to be used by either the Republic or the Sith.

In KotOR, the power can only be used when the user is in deep concentration, and not in the midst of combat. This contradicts earlier sources, where Nomi Sunrider is shown to use battle meditation while fighting.

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, battle meditation is a usable ability by any of the playable characters who are Force-sensitive. Using the power grants a bonus to attack rolls, damage, Will saves and increases Vitality Points Regeneration to the player's entire party. At higher levels, it can also impair enemies. If mastered, the power can be used by the Jedi Exile to turn the tide of the Onderon throne room battle to the favor of QueenTalia's or GeneralVaklu's forces, depending on who the player has allied with.

In The Force Unleashed video game, battle meditation was an upgradeable Force Talent. It decreased the amount of time it takes to charge Force powers.